Coventry City have the meanest league defensive record in all top four divisions – fact!

The Sky Blues have kept an impressive ten clean sheets in their division, one better than League One high flyers Wigan Athletic and two better than Manchester United who boast the tightest rearguard in the Premier League, while Championship Leeds United have also racked up eight shutouts in the league so far this term.

If only Mark Robins’s side was more prolific at the other end, but at least the back five are providing solid foundations on which to build their promotion push this season.

Here we assess the case for the defence so far:

Special mention:

There are three contenders for the best performing defender. Right-back Jack Grimmer has been ever present bar one Checkatrade Trophy outing and done a terrific job in the main since his arrival from Fulham in the summer, getting up and down the pitch to provide the occasional assist while also defending stoutly.

But it is the central defensive pairing of Jordan Willis and 'Concrete Rod' McDonald who have stood out, both possessing plenty of pace and Willis’s athleticism complementing McDonald’s physicality. It’s a toss up between the two.

'Concrete Rod' McDonald has been in outstanding form since joining the Sky Blues from Northampton in the summer

Must do better:

The left-back slot is the position where there is room for improvement. Chris Stokes started the season and played his part in the solid back four but didn’t really pose a threat going forward. To that end, he was replaced by the more naturally marauding full-back Ryan Haynes who is enjoying a run in the side but we are yet to see him let the attacking shackles off completely, while the Academy graduate openly admits he needs to work on his defending.

What’s been said:

Jack Grimmer said: “As defenders, we buzz off clean sheets and it really drives us on seeing the record we have got so far this season.

“But the strikers deserve credit for our defensive displays as well. It’s definitely a team effort.”

Rod McDonald said: “It’s down to the whole starting eleven, everyone is working their socks off from the top of the pitch down to the goalkeeper.

“I pride myself on clean sheets so I can’t complain at the moment.

“Doyler (Michael Doyle) and Kells (Liam Kelly) are phenomenal to have in front of me, it makes my job a lot easier, and obviously the boys next to me are playing well so it’s a good unit.”

Liam Kelly and Michael Doyle have played their part by providing an effective screen for the back four

What the fans reckon:

Best bit:

One of the best collective defensive displays of the season was arguably against Port Vale when the Sky Blues survived eight long minutes of injury time with ten men to claim maximum points courtesy of Jodi Jones’s brilliant first-half goal. Lee Burge had to pull off a sharp block at Harness’s feet and dealt with a succession of crosses under severe pressure while Michael Doyle and Liam Kelly joined the defenders in throwing their bodies on the line to block and head everything that came their way in an all hands to the pump end to the game.

Worst bit:

Probably the 2-1 defeat at Cambridge United when City simply couldn’t handle the U’s powerhouse front two of Uche Ikpeazu and Jabo Ibehre who bagged both goals. It was the only game in which Willis and McDonald have been really stretched by the combination of aerial and physical assault in the box.

Centre-half Jordan Willis in dominant form against Crewe Alexandra FC

How they compare:

City stand head and shoulders above their League Two rivals, having conceded just three goals at the Ricoh Arena and six on the road, amounting to just nine goals in total from 17 games – ten of which have produced clean sheets. The club with the next fewest number of goals conceded is Lincoln City – Coventry’s opponents this weekend – who have let in 15.

In conclusion:

Aside from providing a more attacking threat on the overlap on the left, there are few weaknesses in the back four at this stage of proceedings. It's packed with power, pace and enough experience at this level. It will, however, be tested in the next couple of games as Grimmer looks set to sit out with concussion, forcing Robins to shuffle things around.

But he’s fairly well blessed with back-up with Tom Davies more than capable of coming in at centre-half, which would result in Willis switching across to fill in at right-back – a position he knows well from earlier in his City career. The other option is to keep the central partnership in tact and put Dion Kelly-Evans in as a straight swap for Grimmer, the 21-year-old possessing the heart of a lion.